To New Horizons(2nd ed game, game thread)

[Armen]

Tamora

Tamora nodded to Bas "Of course", she said, "I will do what I can. I am worried that I am unable either to look after the creature here or help it back to where it is from. I doubt now that it is any sort of wild animal." Other than her proximity she tried not to intrude on Bas, instead watching the scene around the fire.

[ 01-29-2007, 03:25 AM: Message edited by: Armen ]

[Caleb808]

Though the brain likely had an answer for nearly any question, nothing sparked Ulik's curiosity more than the brain itself. Nothing he wanted the others to know about anyway, and so he asked "Who and what were you before losing the rest of your body and how did you come to be like this?" then pointed his free hand at the birdlike creature and added "And what's the best recipe for that thing?"

[PurpleXVI]

Bas, Tamora

While the others communed with the brain, Tamora succesfully got the bird peaceful enough for Bas to speak to it. The tameness of the creature and the fact that nature had meant for it to be a herd animal made things easier, but at the same time it was still a bird, and it's limited intellect made it hard for the druid to learn the things he wanted to know. Occasionally he had to settle for half-answers or find unusual way of phrasing his questions so it would understand what he said.

It didn't seem to comprehend his questions about treants or dryads, which either meant that there were none, or that it was just impossible to weasel out of it. He did, however, learn that his assumptions about the tree-dwelling serpents were correct, they attacked their prey either by falling on it from above and dragging it to the ground, or lurking underground in the mud after a rain, then pulling their prey under as they leapt from their burrows.

They, and some sort of tree-climbing humanoid thing(What it sounded like based on the bird's stories, anyway.), appeared to be the most dangerous predators in the immediate area. There were others, of course, like giant insects and a few mammals that Bas recognized from home(Big cats, bears and giant spiders), but those two seemed to be the ones that had harassed the bird the most.

The bird had come from the northwest, somewhere beyond the jungle, and didn't seem to know the forest very well. The story was a bit confused, but apparently it had been sent into the forest to deliver something, forgotten where it was headed and reached the lake after fleeing blindly from some unpleasant predator or another. The story was a bit confused, but as far as Bas could piece it together, some sort of short demi-humans were what had pursued the bird. Either it had been the same, very persistent, band it had met several times, or there were a lot of them in the area.


Everyone Else

"Wise questions," the brain replied to Evon, who was the first to ask of it, "You stand at the center of many paths, with many obstacles surrounding you. To the southeast, towards the mountains, past the Chasm of Choking Ash, lie the cliffs of Drriam which could teach you much of this world. Southwest, into the swamps, there are many half-sunken ruins of the Rhulisti, no doubt they contain horrors, but for a share of the knowledge of the Rhulisti, it might not be a foolish gamble to go searching through them. There are many other wonders to be sought, but I have not left this village in decades, what I used to know of may be destroyed and new things may have arisen."

"As for who, creatures are plentiful, even in this jungle of horrors. Giant sloths roam the crowns of the trees, Kluzd lurk above and below, herds of Kank trample through the clearings, Rhul-Thaun practice their ancient arts atop the Jagged Cliffs, the occasional enterprising band of bandits sweep down from the Ringing Mountains and ever do the City People seek a safe way through the jungle on their way to the mountains. Others, some better, some worse, are on their way as well, some are already here and their schemes are starting to take root, but I cannot reveal too much, some things you must learn for yourselves."

Lorath's reply was next, "All things are possible if a man truly puts his will and heart into it, if he has the right tools and the correct plan, but in the same way, all things have consequences. It is possible to defeat the beast within the lake, it is not immortal. And of the portal not even I know the truth, I have my theories, but I would not like to mislead you."

"I have no one name," the thing told Gan, "But these lizardmen refer to me as the Sage, or the Great Sage, it is not an unfitting label, so you may use it as well. Like I, this world has been called many things over the ages. My original creator knew it as the Blue World, after that it became the Green World and in this present age, everyone is too busy staying alive to name it. If you must speak of it, however, you can call it the Dead World. What would you wish to know of yourself? I will not reveal the secrets of your companions except to them. Such petty behavior would be beneath me."

The Sage managed a chuckle as Ulik questioned it, "I had many bodies, many minds. My creation is a tale of suffering and loss, an atrocity that forever left a scar on the history of the Rhulisti. It is a story I would share, except it was struck even from my memory, it was believed by the others of my people that it would leave me bitter and twisted, with a desire for revenge against the world. Perhaps they were right in what they did, perhaps not, but if you could find the truth of my creation, then I would definitely share some of my deeper secrets with you. Perhaps some you could find a lucrative use for. As for that Erdlu, I am not and never were a cook, I suggest you experiment once you manage to wrench it away from your friends who seem to have taken a liking to it."

[ 01-29-2007, 06:32 PM: Message edited by: PurpleXVI ]

[Encard]

Evon took a little while to mull over how the Sage had answered his question while listening to the answers to his companions' queries. The mention lost knowledge had immediately sent a shiver of excitement through him - what wondrous secrets could be found among these Rhulisti ruins, especially if they had created the Sage? His intense curiosity evident in the tone of the question, he asked, "Who were the Rhulisti? I notice a similarity in that name and the Rhul-Thaun - are the latter related to the former?" His mind stirred by Lorath's question, he added as an afterthought, "And what is the creature of the lake, could you tell us? Why does it attack - is it just a giant hunter, or is there some other reason?" Evon could barely restrain himself from asking about the particulars of everything the Sage had mentioned, all at once, but somehow he managed.

[dplax]

Anne

All the while the brain "spoke" its thoughts in her brain and in the brains of those around her, a frown grew deeper and deeper on Anne's brow. Finally when it mentioned secrets and revealing them only to those having them, she had had enough.

I have enough secrets of my own and I don't need you to add any more to them...besides I don't believe in predetermination and you seem to think that there is some fate awaiting us here. I am an architect of my own fate... With that she withdrew her hand from the surface of the brain, effectively denying the brain a chance to respond, and not hearing the reply it gave to Ulik.

She walked over to where Bas and Tamora were caring for the bird. Should either of them glance at her, Anne's face would show deep concern, which she did not think to hide.

"The brains so far tells only things that we could have learnt from any other race whose speech we can understand, talking mostly about surrounding lands and races" she said to her companions. "There is something that deeply disturbs me about it though. Something I can't exactly put a finger on...I guess I don't like someone, something probing in my thoughts."

She sighed, some of the tension easing from her expression.

"How is he doing?" she asked referring to the bird. "Or is it a she?" she added as an afterthought.

[Armen]

Tamora

Tamora smiled. “He’s a he”. She indicated the scene around the fire. “I was unsure about taking part in something so unnatural. Hopefully the information will be useful. The Learned One has discovered that the bird came from the northwest and was supposed to deliver something. We should see what it was.”

Tamora walked back to the fire circle and picked up the satchel. She walked back to Anne and Bas, opening the flap and removing the contents as she went.

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

Gan Vahnsen

After taking everything in, Gan paused and mused for a while. Eventually, he spoke, "I thank you for your answers, Great Sage." Another pause, "I would ask of myself; of my father's blood; the power he carried; does it flow within me? Do I possess the same latent ability and if so, do you know any way to release it?

"I also have a question I would desire the answer to, for my ears alone. I have long wondered at the folklore of 'True Names'. Where would I find out mine, and does it truly have the power that the legends tell of? I wonder if it is possible to use my True Name to 'command' my mind to open itself and reveal any latent powers of the mind..."

[ 01-29-2007, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: Calaethis Dragonsbane ]

[Man Who Fights Like Woman]

Lorath looked at his hand on the levitating brain, pondering. Surely all of these places warranted examination, but what would they do after plundering ruins, investigating cliff sides, and the like? "Great Sage," he began, "the many locations will be useful, but what after? Could you tell us where the way to the nearest town which would be receptable to us besides this village?" He waited a few more seconds, trying to think of another question. "And in this town, who would be a good person to speak to?"

[PurpleXVI]

Gan, Lorath, Evon, Ulik

"Not much escapes you, does it?" The Sage said to Evon, "Yes, the Rhulisti, the Life-Shapers, are the ones from whom the Rhul-Thaun are descended. Some still practice the ancient arts in enclaves hidden even from my knowledge, but most are savage and degenerate. They roam the Forest Ridge in packs of skilled hunters, almost a mindless force of destruction. They care nothing for other creatures that think, and will eat anything that moves."

"That which dwells within the lake is a hunter much like them, it has a mind, albeit a rudimentary one, but it is only a catalyst for it's ability to hunt and devour, not anything that is dedicated to learning or peace. What it is, is a cast-off of the Rhulisti, a failed experiment in their final age, it's creator could not bear to think of it rotting away in lonely imprisonment, so he unleashed it upon the world."

It seemed to ponder it's reply to Gan for a moment, "Your father's power was not one of the blood, nor one brought about by the favour of other beings, it was one of pure Will. I cannot tell if you have the same potential, but the cliffs I spoke of are said by some of the locals to be a test of sorts. Only those of stoutest heart and strongest mind can brave them. If you could go there, and return, perhaps it would be a test of sorts to tell whether you can channel your Will. And True Names... They are not the realm of a sage, they are the realm of Powers and dread entitites. I can tell you nothing of them."

"There are many places in the area where you would be a welcome sight, Lorath," the Sage told the elf, "But not many where you would enjoy the welcome they had in mind. I suggest you seek out the village of Ogo, which is north-northeast of here, several days on foot and without a guide, but you should be able to spot it from afar if you make it there."

"Additionally, perhaps you should tell your companions to seek the cliffs. There the druid might learn more of what remains of his kin upon this dying world."


Bas, Tamora, Anne

The contents of the satchel turned out to be several scrolls made of crude, thick paper. Each scroll was sealed not with wax, but with a mark made of what seemed to be transparent resin.

As far as Tamora could tell, they were ordinary messages, rather than spell scrolls. The language of the messages was unfamiliar to everyone, but there was also a map among the papers. The wide forested belt could easily be where they were, especially as there was also a lake on the map which, if one accepted that the cartographer had gotten the size a bit off, could be the one the were at, and the mountains southeast of the forest could easily be the ones that they could see.

(OOC: Uploading a picture of the map and posting it in the OOC thread.)

[ 01-30-2007, 02:48 PM: Message edited by: PurpleXVI ]

[dplax]

Anne

"Who could the bird have gotten these from?" she softly murmured, her attention completely focused on the pile of scrolls. She glanced over them, but could not make out any meaning behind the strange symbols.

She did however notice a map in the middle of the scrolls and gently took it, to examine it. Her features lit up when she noticed something she thought was familiar. Motioning to Tamora, she explained.

"Might this little blue dot in the center of what seems to be a clearing be this very lake? Those mountains to the East would be what we saw from the other side of the lake. And could that mean that the route traced on the map is what this bird should have followed?" she asked, excitement slightly creeping into her voice.